Best Remmington 597 trigger mod?

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ddtank

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Just bought the heavy barrel version and while I have only tried it once, it seems to be promising and worth spending a little bit more to improve and lighten the trigger.
I see there are various options out there - springs, hammers etc - what is the best thing to do for not too much money?
 
I would suggest that you google Remington 597 rimfire mods and you will find everything your looking for. The 597 is an accurate rifle and with some tweaks that are available you will find that these tweaks they help with reliability and function. Check out mcarbo and go from there.
 
I think it’s Macarbo that has the trigger parts, and the Volqurtsen hammer and extractor.

If yours is a new one there shouldn’t really be a need for the extractor.

With the two that I have, one for my son and one for me, all I have done was flip the trigger spring. All it does is change some angles as there is no physical changes to the diameter of the wire. But even that seems to help the trigger. I don’t have a pull gauge.

Right out of the box these things work. But pull it apart. Give everything a good cleaning. Polish up the guide rides and channels in the bolt group. Use some Remington DriLube as your oil/grease replacement, and start shooting. I can easily get 10 shot groups that I can cover with a loonie at 50 yards with scrap Winchester ammo but I have switched primarily to Federal AutoMatch and American Eagle hollow point. I did just pick up some of the Browning ammo to try, and mine both love the CCI MiniMags, but they are expensive compared to a lot of the other stuff.
 
Just thought of it. Checkout rimfire central forums. There is a section dedicated to the 597’s. They have stickies with parts available and mods to do.
 
Thanks for the input.
Just cleaning it now and it was all very dry inside so the first thing will be to clean and lube and see what that is like. I only have some regular gun oils to hand and synthetic grease. Normally, it is said to oil things that turn and grease things that slide but synthetic = silicone usually. Would have good heat resistance but is silicone suitable for the rods, bolt etc?
If I flip or change the trigger spring, are there any tricks to doing that before I just push out the pin and bits go flying all over the place?
 
Head over to your nearest Walmart for the Rem DriLube.

For the trigger spring flip, there are no parts that go flying. If you go to rimfire central there are some video links about doing it. Or even the Mcarbo trigger install video will give you a good idea of what to expect.
 
Okay, thanks. Have just used some Hoppes's oil for now as I didn't want to leave it in pieces before forgetting how to put it back together! It is quite easy of course, just nervous first time disassembling. I didn't go as far as the stated torque setting for the stock screws though, seems a bit much for light alloy.
One thing: does the charging lever pull the bolt all the way back in one smooth movement or is there a sticking point around where it holds open? This is what I have now but can't remember if that is how it was or if I have done something wrong.
 
That's normal. And that point will move depending if it's cocked or uncocked.

Use the torque specs. They work just fine. And they aren't very high anyway. It's inch pounds, not foot pounds.
 
Well, you should de-#### the hammer before poking out the pin that holds the trigger spring. Just hold your thumb firmly over the hammer, pull the trigger and gently let the hammer come forward, controlling it with your thumb. Now you can poke out the pin without bits flying everywhere :)

You won't feel the bolt hold open zone as you pull the bolt back, it only works with an empty mag in place too (but you can stick a finger up the magwell and press up the lever that holds the bolt open). What you're probably feeling is the bolt riding over the hammer and this is normal (bolt presses the hammer down to re-#### the trigger).
 
Just looking at what to order... it seems the Mcarbo spring is $30 and the Volquartsen hammer is $45 (that's USD for both I guess). Both promise a lighter trigger pull but I'd be looking at more than CAD$100 for both upgrades. Might be worth it I suppose but for a $300 rifle, are both really necessary and if it is one or the other which is better?
Or I could just try ScottMisfits flipping the factory spring approach...
Also for the spring and hammer parts, I have not gone too far through trying to order from the manufacturer websites but maybe they don't even ship here. I can google but anyone know offhand if there are distributors here? (I see Sylvestre do the Volquartsen hammer but what about Mcarbo?)
Thanks.
Edit: I just used a gauge I bought for weighing parcels when I did a lot of Ebaying with a loop of string around the trigger and snap-cap. Seems mine is well over 6lb (!?) so maybe I should get both parts...
 
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Price of the rifle shouldn't really be a determining factor in what you put into the rifle. The way it shoots and/or want it to shoot is, within reason. In my opinion, I'd rather put $100 into my 597 than even $50 in to my 10/22 because I feel it works better stock and that $100 will get me where I want. With the 10/22, I don't know of a single aftermarket add on that will get me the features that I want.

That being said, the only money I've spent on my 597's has been the $20 per rifle for the swivel studs, and I have 5 magazines for both of them combined. I have also put a slip on recoil pad on mine to make it a bit longer. And I got that on sale for $10.
 
Yes, you're right. I bought a Crosman 2240 air pistol for $80 then added a steel breech, Walther barrel, muzzle brake, scope etc (around $300 or so...). Now it pleases me to shoot out individual letters aimed at in the small print on the bottom of an empty pellet tin at 10 yards or so.
At the moment with the 597 HB, I am getting one hole at 25 yds and about an inch at 50 yds even with that terrible trigger so I am hoping that spending the money on it will get me to the same sort of place. Seems to like CCI Std Vel by the way with CCI AR Tac in second place.
 
You don't need to add both the MCARBO spring kit and the VQ hammer to improve the trigger pull. The VQ hammer alone should result in the pull being 2.5-3 lbs, then I'm not sure how much more of a difference the MCARBO would make in addition to that. You can do things one at a time, try the hammer first and you might be happy with that alone. I'd suggest giving SK Standard Plus a try for ammo if you'd like those 50 yard groups to tighten up vs the CCI.
 
RabidM4U5 said:
You don't need to add both the MCARBO spring kit and the VQ hammer to improve the trigger pull. The VQ hammer alone should result in the pull being 2.5-3 lbs, then I'm not sure how much more of a difference the MCARBO would make in addition to that. You can do things one at a time, try the hammer first and you might be happy with that alone. I'd suggest giving SK Standard Plus a try for ammo if you'd like those 50 yard groups to tighten up vs the CCI.
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I used a VQ hammer and it made quite a difference. I also changed the extractor to the stronger VQ model. After a case of 5000 rounds through the 597 shooting prairie gophers, it was still ticking like the Duracell Bunny. Pay attention to the guide rods, some people tighten them down WAY too tight. Just screw them in until they LIGHTLY contact the end, then back off 1/8 of a turn for a bit of clearance. If you tighten them up too much, you tend to bend or bow them, resulting in drag and erratic functioning.
 
Thanks, sounds like I will start with the hammer then. I saw the extractor too but haven't had any problems with that. I did have some feeding problems but not so much since its first clean and lube. I suppose they could be magazine related too.
I did the guide rod screws up to the stated torque but will not tighten so much the next time.
I just ordered a thousand CCI but will look out for the SK to try them.
 
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